Zodiacs
by Kicho-chan
Summary: In this time and age, having "knights" was considerably normal...In this period,knights are now known as Zodiacs. They are just like knights in the "protect my master" field...they all have their strengths and weaknesses, and they all live surprisingly normal lives blending in with the "Normals" outside of school, and then there's me, Haruno Sakura the "Zodiac-less Master"...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

* * *

_Chapter 1_

In this time and age, having "knights" was considerably normal, but not only royals get knights. In fact, they aren't even called knights anymore. In this period, knights are now known as Zodiacs. They are just like knights in the "protect my master" field and they do come whenever they are summoned but the approach to their methods are completely different. In the past, aristocrats such as kings and queens, would knight a man – more or less – by touching both of the mans shoulders while chanting "I knight thee", or something along those lines. Now, all that's really needed is one ring from a Zodiac attribute, one girl – or boy – who has feelings for the Zodiac, and the words "Make me your Zodiac", or something along those lines, in proposal form; down on one knee, ring out and in the flashiest/cutest/most unique way possible. Cheesy I know, but it works.

For most people, you get your first Zodiac in your first year in high school or, if you're lucky, earlier. The longer your Zodiac was obtained, the stronger they get, so, naturally, the longest lasted Zodiac and Master pair would be the most popular in the schools.

In this case it would be Neji and Tenten. They knew each other since they were both four, and, after six long years, Neji "proposed" to her as her Zodiac. She accepted of course and they have been fighting together ever since. However, like plenty of Master attributes, Tenten has other Zodiacs besides Neji, just he happened to be first. Don't get her wrong though, having more than one Zodiac is nothing new around here. Granted it isn't common, but it isn't uncommon either. Anyways, her other Zodiacs consists of Rock Lee, her other childhood friend, Sabaku Kankuro, and Aburame Shino. If she didn't feel that Neji, her strongest, wasn't needed her next choice would be Lee, the Fastest, then Shino, the Bug Master, and last Kankuro, the Puppet Man. With those four under her strong, agile form, Tenten unintentionally runs the school.

Next in High school royalty would have to be Ino and her Zodiac, and childhood friend, Akimichi Chouji. Shikamaru had been their other friend as well, but he was a Master as well as Ino so she never had much expectations from him. Chouji, one the other hand, surprised her by actually putting down a bag of chips long enough to propose. She accepted because Chouji had a way with her. He always knew how to cheer her up in her times of need, so she thought "Why not keep him around". Even so, Chouji was not Ino's strongest Zodiac. Another one, recently gained no longer than 2 years ago, named Sai, came and took over with his natural abilities as a Zodiac. Recently, he has become Ino's favorite. Most believe it's because he showers her with compliments and such – that's where I stand as well.

Next would be Hyuga Hinata, an angel sent from heaven, and Uzumaki Naruto, her rambunctious Zodiac. Those two are a rather new pair, though, but it's because of how strong their bond is that they're so popular.

Since her early years, Hinata has had the world's biggest crush on Naruto, and, up until two years ago, Naruto was oblivious to her feelings, chasing, instead, other girls that were less interested in him. It was no wonder that, when he finally proposed to her, the energy of their bond was stronger than most others. It was cute, simply put, and highly waited upon, so, the moment she said yes, the whole town, except for Neji, seemed to cheer. Not long after, Naruto, being him, messed up and placed a big hole in her heart, making her feel like their bond was breaking. That was when Inuzuka Kiba one of her oldest friends, stepped in and proposed in her time of weakness, surprising everyone since we were all so sure that Naruto would be Hinata's one and only Zodiac. Naturally, Naruto was mad, but that was a given since most Zodiacs don't like their Master "loving" someone other than them. Yet, there was never a point to his jealousy because the moment he repented for his mistakes she was back on Team Naruto, though Kiba never backed down.

Tailing just behind Hinata and her pair, was Shikamaru, the Master, and Temari, the Zodiac. They became popular the moment she proposed to him. There was nothing special about it though. It was just that she was a girl and he was a guy, and it was uncommon to mostly everyone. That was it.

Even so, Temari, the Zodiac, was an interesting story all by herself. Her and her two brothers, Gaara, the youngest, and Kankuro, the second eldest, were all Zodiacs. Normally, families, with more than one child, that hold the attributes for either Zodiacs or Masters never have all Zodiacs or all Masters, but they did, and everyone of them were strong beyond belief.

Shikamaru on the other hand was just plain lazy.

All these people, students of Konoha High for the Unnaturally Talented, are extraordinary people. They all have their abilities as Masters or Zodiacs, they all have their strengths and weaknesses, and they all live surprisingly normal lives, blending in with the "Normals" outside of school, and then there's me, Haruno Sakura, a.k.a the "Zodiac-less Master". Now, don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with not having a Zodiac. It's just that I do have one, and, no matter how hard I try, I can't for the life of me get my Zodiac to come to me. Even though I have the ring, even though I have had it longer than Tenten has had Neji's, I have yet to see my Zodiac. So now, everyone believes that the ring I have is a fake. Thus, the name "Zodiac-less Master", or "Zodiac-less" for short, was born.

But my Zodiac is real. I know he is. He saved me back when I was four. He jumped in when my house was under attack when Daddy was out. They would have killed me had he not showed up and distracted them. I wouldn't even be here now if he hadn't relocated me then became my zodiac to protect me from the bad men. I would have been gone from the face of the earth.

Yet, even though I owe my life to the guy, I never did get his name. I passed out during the battle and when I woke back up I was in a hospital and my Daddy was asleep beside me, holding my hand. I probably would have thought that it was nothing but a dream had it not been for the ring that I was holding tightly in my other hand. So, the only thing I really remember about him was that he was older than me and that he was a Taurus, but even the type of Zodiac he is was a given, since their signs are on their rings.

"Looking at your ring again, Forehead?"

I sighed. Being one of my childhood friends, I didn't even have to look to know who was talking to me. I did anyways, but that was only because I wanted to see her face.

"Yes Pig. Got a problem with that?"

She rolled her eyes then flipped her hair proudly before she sat down next to me. "Is that a really real ring or are you desperately sticking on to the world's biggest, and dumbest, lie?" she asked suddenly without even looking at me.

"It's a really real ring." I complained as I fell back onto the grass. "It's just broken or something."

"Zodiac rings don't break." another voice chimed in.

"Hello, Princess Tenten." I deadpanned without looking at her.

She scoffed then sat down on the other side of me. "I told you not to call me that. It's bad enough that I have to deal with the students at this school who think they can call me that. I rather not have to deal with my friends calling me Princess as well."

"It would have been queen if Temari wasn't older than you."

"I don't know why that motion is even put into play. It makes no since. You and Neji obviously have a stronger connection, plus you have three other Zodiacs as well." Ino added.

"Where is Temari anyways?" Tenten asked.

"Probably out doing senior stuff…as always."

"They get all the fun." I complained.

"One day." Tenten sighed.

Then we got quiet. A nice silence spread through us and we were comfortable with it. Well, they were. I was too busy wondering, once again, about my ring. There was so little that I knew about my rumored nonexistent Zodiac.

"It's getting late." Ino started as she watched the other kids leave. "Why are we still here?"

"We're waiting for Hinata and Naruto. She had some student council things to do and he was there to help I guess." I began as I sat up, just as Lee, Neji, Shino, and Kankuro came up with Temari and Shikamaru following behind.

"Hinata's not here yet?" They questioned.

"No." I sighed, not even wanting to say anything else about their whereabouts.

"Do you want to wait?" Tenten asked Neji just as he sat down beside her.

His answer was a deep grunt of a noise that sounded, and looked, like he was going to stay with or without her. That was always something that got me with Neji. Unlike his sweeter, more emotional cousin, Neji was everything she wasn't. Stoic, careless towards anyone besides his cousins and Tenten, and hard to deal with, yet, even with all of that, he was still popular. People were too jealous of their relationship and tried everything in their right mind to get them to leave one another, but those never really worked. In fact, I'm more than sure that the only ones left who would dare attempt to break them would be anyone outside of our circle of friends and her and Temari's fan club which didn't leave that many people.

Looking out into the disappearing crowd, my eyes caught a hold of one of the loneliest, yet most wanted Zodiacs on campus; Sasuke Uchiha, and I couldn't help but look away frantically. Sasuke and I, along with Naruto, used to be close friends up until we were about 15. Around that time, he left our circle of friends without ever proposing to me like I thought he would and without resolving this fight that he and Naruto had gotten into just a few days before. Ever since then, things had been weird between us. With him glaring at me if he ever caught me staring and me looking away, seeming embarrassed whenever he caught me staring. Now, I just avoid him though even that was hard considering the fact that he goes to the same school as me.

"I'm leaving first." I groaned as I stood and headed towards the front gates, not even waiting to hear anything from them. That was just how things were with us. Even if I told them that I was leaving first, none of them followed. I wasn't the leader of our group of friends, in fact, there was no leader of our group of friends. There was only us, and depending on where someone was going, the rest would follow, but with me, since I tend to only go home whenever I say I'm leaving, no one ever follows. Once upon a time they did, but that was before they met my crazy neighbor and saw the "might as well be haunted" house that I was lucky enough to be wedged between. I didn't blame them. My neighbor's dog was just as annoying as her normal annoying kids and the house on the other side made noises that sounded and looked like it hadn't been inhabited in decades. If it hadn't have been for my father, who, might I add, is never really around, I would have moved long ago.

The trip back home for me, however, always started and ended in the same matter. I, being the only one of my friends that lived in the opposite direction of everyone else, would take my leave from them at the gates to catch this train that hardly anyone rides since it leads to these semi-country area just outside the city where one convenience store and a couple of bus stops called home alongside some crazy people who like living there and me. I would get off the train and walk about half a mile to the nearest, working, bus stop and wait there. Thankfully, the wait's not all that long since the times the train stops and bus comes are damn near perfectly linked. I then ride the bus for a short while till we start seeing houses in the distance along with a convenience store, where the bus conveniently stops, and I head on home, which is two blocks down from there, and I always get off early even though there is a stop just one block down from my house, but since I'd be passing my home, I get off there instead. Is it a hassle? Yes. Do I have the means to move closer to my school, in the city on my friends' side possibly? No? Even if I did, would my father find out about my wanting to move then stop me? Of course –why was that last one even a question?

"I'm home. Not like anyone ever cares." I mumble as I walk into a big house…alone…as usual. Usually, I would be greeted by My neighbor and her two bad kids and yappy puppy, but today was Tuesday, which meant that the normal boys were out doing normal things with their normal family, like Minor league baseball and soccer at the same time since the twins could never agree on one thing to do together besides being annoying to Sakura.

I dramatically fall on my couch, wishing that I could somehow stay there and still pass the rest of my high school career and go on to grow up to be someone great, and I stay there and I keep thinking that until I'm interrupted by me stomach angrily growling it's disinterest in my thoughts, clouding my everything with pictures of Ramen and maybe even a hamburger.

"Food." I mumble out loud to no one in particular. "I need nourishment."

So I get up and strip on the way to the kitchen. Why? Because it's hot in Japan, that's why, and yet, even though I know that, I'm still looking to eat something that's best served hot rather than cold…like the weirdo I am. So, I bypass the restroom and dark hall that I hardly ever enter unless I want to go to my room and head straight to my kitchen where I'm met with a luxurious fridge, my only real prized possession, and freezer expecting to see something edible in there, but what do I get?

I'll tell you what I got: mustard, some old breakfast that was made the last time my father was here, curry that also needed to be thrown out, ramen that I never finished and, looking at it now, will never finish, ketchup, eggs…no…scratch that…egg carton (empty)…water, which was helpful but not what I was hoping for, and some rotting cheese.

"Aaaaaannnnnd I have to go shopping." I sighed as I stepped out of my skirt and headed towards my room only to be stopped by a sudden realization that I was being watched. So, forgetting the state I was in, I quickly turned towards my window in the living area that was wide open and had a nice view of the old uninhabited house next door. Only, this time, instead of the dark brown, almost black wooden planks that decked the house, my eyes met with three faces, all wide eyed and unblinking as they blanched at me from their position just outside my window.

Why they were there, and what they were there for, I didn't know, but, especially at the moment, I could care less. Everything seemed to slow as my eyes widened in realization that these people, these strangers outside my window were staring so openly at my semi-naked body. So, what do I do? The only thing a girl would do in this situation: scream and cover up. The only thing I did that no one else would think to do was throw the nearest object in my house out the window, smashing one of them in the nose before I ran to the safety of my darkened hallway and room.

I heard a yell after I ran followed by another yelp of pain and several curse words slurred together in a string of voices that all seemed a little too angry at something; me possibly. But what right did they have to be mad at me. They were the ones peeping in on my home, granted that I was the one who decide to strip with the window wide open, but what was I supposed to expect. I had lived in this house for years and never had anyone gotten so close to that side of my house specifically because of the haunted one next door. I had been doing that routine for years with no complaint or intrusion and now I was so rudely intruded in on by strangers.

I quickly got dressed seeing as I forgot to close the window in my rush to get out of their sights and went to trying to find another way out of my house. The window in the bathroom was the only one I could think of since my backdoor was so broken that I was too scared to even touch it and leaving out the front door called for crossing through the living room where they could still be gathered, and, even if they weren't there still, there was a possibility that I would see them once I stepped out the door. So, naturally I made my way out the window.

Safe.

Peering around the corner, I saw no one standing near my front door or in the front lawn of the other house, but I did see a large truck packed with random things packed in it. Someone was moving in and I think I knew who it was.

"Damn." I cursed as I quietly crept around the corner to hop my fence rather than walk through it. I figured opening it then closing it would take up too much time that could possibly give those people time to walk back out just in time to see me leaving.

"Oi!" Came a loud, masculine voice that had me flinch so hard I tripped in my attempt to get out of there before I could hear another sound.

* * *

I hated shopping at the convenient sore simply because it was a convenient store and the only food they found convenient was ramen and cheap sushi that is not to be trusted. They had milk and they had some juice and water, and even some rice cakes, but nothing seriously worth any of the money I was willing to pay. So, in the end, I bought several cups of ramen and some rice cakes just for fun, some more milk and nothing more out of fear that the bags would be too heavy to hold. No matter how strong I was, there was a limit to how long I could hold heavy things.

Grudgingly, I hauled my belongings to the cashier desk just as some other people came in complaining loudly about why a convenient store was the only "close" store in the area and how much gas money they were going to waste getting to and from a real grocery store. As the cashier lazily scanned my belongings, I found myself looking over my shoulder towards the door that was still open only to meet the last person I wanted to see at the moment. With one slightly bruised eye on one side and a curtain of blond hair draping the other, I found myself staring at the very person I threw my…vase?...at.

I looked away, eyes wide and face flushed as I felt his eyes stare me down. The cashier, bless his ignorance, didn't seem to notice my sudden burst of urgency but did take notice in the man that was now approaching the register. He nodded above my head to acknowledge his presence before going back to his diligent work of scanning box after box of ramen.

"Oji-san." Came a deep voice, one I wasn't prepared to hear from the dainty looking blonde. "Do you have any tools?"

"No." The man behind the counter answered as he scanned the last of my ramen and moved on to the two packages of rice cakes. Behind me, I could feel the man hover over me. The heat from his body only increasing as he answered.

"Ah. I see. They don't have any." He cooed softly to someone else though I could feel his eyes still looking down on me.

"I see." Another voice, closer than the other's and slightly higher, answered. "I found this though, will this make way till we can go to the stores in the city?"

"Un."

"That will be ¥513.75"

I quickly handed him the money and took my bags, waving off the change he attempted to give me, then left the store as fast as I could, only to stop at the corner near the very store I left to wait, unfortunately, for the bus, my only source of transportation.

I hadn't been out there for more than a minute when I heard the chime of the bells from the convenient store doors followed by three different voices and the opening and closing sound of a cars doors. After some time, I heard the engine start and found myself shrinking further into myself as I hoped that they would just drive right past me without recognizing me.

I heard the sound of tires rumbling on gravel slowly before they hit pavement and quieted down. It took some time for the car to pass the corner I was standing on, so I knew instantly what happened. They noticed me. Big surprise there. I did have naturally pink hair; something that I found to be not only a blessing, but a curse as well. After some time the car came edging to the bus stop, stopping only when the tinted window of the passenger's seat was directly in front of me. I tried to ignore them, but, as the window slowly started to roll and a blonde with one bruising blue eye peered out it casually, studying me with casual interest, I found it harder and harder to outright ignore them.

We stayed in our respective positions for a couple of seconds without moving or acknowledging one another's existence until he moved to look at his watch. He stared at it for a couple of seconds longer than he needed to before returning back into his position of laying his face on the window seal of the car door.

"You know," he started, making me jump, though I still refused to look at him. "The next bus doesn't come for another two hours."

"Ha?!" I yelled as I focused in on his face, searching for a lie that wasn't there. Instead he was watching me with earnest interest that only seemed to grow the more I searched him.

Finally I looked away then straightened up and headed towards my house feeling the least bit surprised when the car started moving slowly beside me, keeping the blonde who was looking out the window in line with me. I got about halfway down the long road when he started talking to me again.

"Do you need a ride?"

I stopped, caught off guard by the sudden question and started searching him for some ulterior motive once more. I was not stupid. As far as I was concerned, there were three men in that car and possibly another in the driver's seat. Leaving with them would be suicide. I could only imagine what horrible things they would do to me if I willing walking into their trap. SO, to get myself out of this situation, I shook my head then started walking again. Of course, they followed, keeping the blond just in front of me this time. This was obviously getting dangerous.

He looked up as they drove on then back down at me. "It's going to rain soon. You'll never make it back before then."

"I'm fine." I near screamed as I quickened my pace only to be caught up to almost too quickly. The blonde never even looked away from the window, so the driver must have been doing this on his own accord now. I was increasingly growing more and more scared and was about to say something else only to be cut off by the loud roll of thunder that sent chills that had me screaming into my hands as I squatted to the ground. Too much was happening at once. I was being stalked by my neighbors and now I was caught in a thunderstorm that threatened my sanity with the sound alone.

"You scared of thunder?" The blonde chuckled as the car came to a stop beside me.

I was in danger now. Scared out of my mind and caught in between a rock and a hard place with no one to turn to.

"Just get in the car." He cooed as he stepped out.

I looked up at him from my position and noticed several things about him just in case they decided to let me live, and the one thing I really noticed was how handsome he was. I mean, he looked like a tanned porcelain doll with skin so clear that it looked photo-shopped. His hair was as bright and shiny as the sun that currently wasn't out courtesy of the storm clouds, and his eyes were as blue and alive as the once blue sky that surrounded the once visible sun. Not only that, but he was tall and built. Underneath his loose muscle shirt I could see the muscles of his chest and his arms. They weren't extremely big, just cut and noticeable for someone with such a small frame.

I guess he could see that I was sizing him up since he shifted his position with a chuckle that seemed to be mocking me. It irritated me so much that I stood and gathered my bags once again before I speed-walked past them only to fall to my knees once again when another roll of thunder scared me out of my skin and had me screaming like a lost child. I could even feel the tears approaching.

"We promise we won't do anything." Came another, feminism voice.

I turned then and noticed the blond was slightly in front of the car now but, this time, beside him, there was a blue haired girl, or, should I say, woman. I stared at her for a moment, recognizing her beauty and elegance as she stared on at me with little to no interest showing on her face. However, her amber eyes told a different story, and though they seemed warm right then, I could sense a hint of cold disregard there as well, but, at the moment, I could care less. In my eyes, one more girl kind of made the situation a little better.

So, without any more thought I quickly got up and ran towards them, bowing my thanks towards her as I ducked under the blondes arms and scooted as far into the car as I could. To my "surprise" there were two other men in the car. A red head, who was sitting beside me looking a little too comfortable with a stranger sitting beside him, and another darker skinned man with eyes so dark and uninviting that I was sure to have nightmares about them.

The girl with the blue hair was sitting in the front seat watching me from the mirror as the car started moving once again this time at a proper speed. We would basically be at our respective houses before the downpour would start which I was happy for, but not even that could settle how awkward I felt between these two people. The red head was looking over me the whole time speaking with the blonde through his facial expressions and eyes alone. The looks varied from curiousness to concern to questioning. From my spot in the car, looking down, I could see him clearly, but not the other person, which I was comfortable with since I've seen enough of his face at the moment.

Took the time I had in the car to study the red head beside me with downcast eyes, and, once again, I had to point out that he, too, looked like he could be a model if it wasn't for his size. Even when sitting, I could see that he was small in size compared to the others in the car. Taller than me and the other girl but only by a couple of inches or so, but none of that would matter once someone saw his eyes. Their color was just as pretty as the girls and slightly darker and down caste, watching….me?

I quickly looked away, embarrassed for being caught staring at someone I didn't even know, and that feeling only grew tenfold when I heard him attempt at suppressing his laughter. I squeezed my eyes shut hoping that in doing so, I could somehow calm down and force him to forget what he had just seen.

"What's your name?" A familiar voice asked, making me look up.

I stared at the blonde in question feeling slightly confused on why he needed to know my name but decided to tell him anyways.

"Haruno Sakura."

"Sakura-chan?" He cooed as he looked down at me.

I nodded trying to suppress the chill that ran down my spine and the blush that crossed over my face at the sound of him using my first name instead of my last. There weren't a lot of people outside my family and group of friends that called me outside of my first name.

"I'm Deidara and that's Sasori, Konan and Kazuka. We're your new neighbors."

I nodded once more before breaking my gaze from him to look back at my bag. I knew there was nothing in there that was worth my interest and so did they, but that alone wasn't enough to force them to continue on with their unnecessary conversation with me, and for that, I was grateful. However, after some time at a red light, I found my eyes wandering once again to focus back on Deidara as he looked out the window.

There were a lot of things about him that I found attractive, one of them being something that made my heart flutter even when looking at Lee, which was the jawline. For some reason, I always found the jawlines of boys, no matter who, attractive, and right now, at this very moment, I could easily say that Deidara was VERY attractive. His profile was like no other with a casual bang, long enough to reach his neck, outlining his features that were visible: his eye, his nose, that half of his lips. He was beautiful. Almost as pretty as a girl but just masculine enough to pass for a boy. I found my eyes traveling down his jaw, tracing it diligently before sliding down his neck where his Adams Apple poked out, giving hint to his gender once again.

Quickly, I looked back up at his eyes, surprised to see him looking over me like the red head, Sasori, was doing. He nodded his head as he held a blank look over his face and I watched as a smirk played at his lips and his eyes gleamed a response before they flickered down to mine, catching me by complete surprise.

I was caught big time.

"What?" He asked, making everyone look back at me once the car stopped.

_Fuck._

There was literally no way I could get out of here. I was land locked at the moment, with both Sasori and Deidara not opening the door even though we were in front of their home. Looking around I could see the questioning in everyone's eyes, except for Deidara and Sasori, the two people who caught me staring at them. Those two looked all but tickled to see me in this situation.

I needed to get out of this now. So, at last minute, my eyes focused back on Deidara's neck where his collar bone stuck out proudly, and where a silver chain rest. "I was just wondering if you were a Zodiac or a Master." I cooed coolly, trying to seem like I was always under control of the situation. It seemed to work for my favor since the two upfront turned to open their doors, signaling Deidara and Sasori to open theirs as well.

"Zodiac…where did that come from?"

"I saw the chain."

"It could have been a regular chain." Kazuka growled slightly from outside the car, making me turn to look at him in my haste to get out.

"I'm a student at Konoha High for the Unnaturally Talented; Master attribute."

"And you were hoping that I would propose to you?" Deidara questioned curiously as he took my bag from my hand so that I could get out easier. Though I appreciated the gesture, the question that came with it made me lose all thanks I felt towards him.

"No." I squealed, losing my composure now that I could run to the safety of my home. "I was just curious?"

"Okay." He smiled as he handed me back my bag and let me walk past him to my own home.

I could still feel his eyes watching me along with the rest of them. I tried to keep my composer once again until I was finally behind closed doors where I allowed my knees to buckle and let me fall. There, I buried my face into my hands and screamed out my frustrations.

"You okay, Sakura-chan?"

I looked up and looked dead at the very person who caused me so much humiliation; Deidara.

"You look flustered." He smiled. "Oh hey, by the way, are you going to be stripping by an open window all of the time, because that's something I need to know of for future references."

"Shut up!" I yelled as I chunked one of my rice cakes at his face only to watch him catch it with ease.

"I won't fall for that again." He smirked as he held up his hand. "Free hands this time."

Irritated, I charged at the window then slammed it shut disregarding the blonde who was standing there looking up at me with concern as he held his hands with the rice cakes between them. He looked like I had just kicked his fish, but that look only lasted for a few seconds seeing as I shut the curtains as well, blocking him from my view and enclosing myself in the darkness of my lonesome home.

* * *

**A/N: The rings are silver with a zodiac sign of the Zodiac engraved into it. **

**Zodiacs have two rings, one on the hand and the other on a chain.**

**Masters are given the Zodiacs ring from around the chain.**

**Can you guess who her zodiac is yet?**

**Should i continue?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Special thanks to these awesome people for reviewing!**

**Xx4ying4yang4xX****  
****mun3litKnight****  
****Chibified-chan****  
****Megumi-Fallen-Angel**  
**Emma3mikan**

Previously, in Chapter 1:

_In this time and age, having "knights" was considerably normal, but not only royals get knights. In fact, they aren't even called knights anymore. In this period, knights are now known as Zodiacs. They are just like knights in the "protect my master" field and they do come whenever they are summoned but the approach to their methods are completely different…_

"_Is that a really real ring or are you desperately sticking on to the world's biggest, and dumbest, lie?" she asked suddenly without even looking at me._

"_It's a really real ring." I complained as I fell back onto the grass. "It's just broken or something."_

"_Zodiac rings don't break."…_

…_a sudden realization that I was being watched. So, forgetting the state I was in, I quickly turned towards my window in the living area that was wide open and had a nice view of the old uninhabited house next door. Only, this time, instead of the dark brown, almost black wooden planks that decked the house, my eyes met with three faces, all wide eyed and unblinking as they blanched at me, unmoving from their position just outside my window…_

"_You know," he started, making me jump, though I still refused to look at him. "The next bus doesn't come for another two hours."…_

"_What's your name?"…_

"_I'm Deidara and that's Sasori, Konan and Kazuka. We're your new neighbors."…_

Chapter 2

They say attraction is what causes peoples behaviors to change. Like, for instance, a girls voice getting slightly higher when she speaks to a guy she likes, or the blush that form on her face when their eyes meet, or maybe even the inability to understand when they're being mocked or ridiculed. It dulls ones sense and causes their minds to alter in ways that fit best to the one person they want to be with, and the worst part is that you can't control it. You have no idea why you fall for someone's looks or their humor, their smile or their eyes, but you do, and you might even hate yourself for it. You basically turn into someone else, that's how strong the weapon attraction is. It can turn the most tomboy girl in the world into a leaping little girl who got a little too excited from seeing just one person. It's bothersome and irritating in every sense. That is why I hate being "attracted" to someone.

What reason do I have to bring this up you may ask?

Well, first off, I can clearly say, with honest eyes, that I am beyond flustered about last night's incident with my newest neighbors. So much so, that I woke up cautiously; with all my clothes on and all my doors and windows locked and covered, something I wasn't used to doing, especially the clothes thing. Second, I can also say that I am trying with as much ease as possible to keep myself away from them, but not knowing their schedules like I do with the twins and their yappy puppy made that all but impossible, so I had to gamble this morning by leaving much earlier than usual, and, after finding out that that didn't really help my case, I finally came across my third reason for why I brought up the word "Attraction". Reason three: I am attracted to not only the blonde but the red head as well.

Out of the four faces that I had managed to remember from yesterday, the two that stood out the most were those two. The girl was also beautiful, but I was not attracted to her, I was only aware of her beauty. The other guy scared me with those dark eyes he had, so all I had left were those two. I was sure that that there were more people there since only two of the three faces who saw me naked were present at the convenient store, but I didn't have enough time to see them, or the want to either, so, in the end, ketchup and mustard were my two crushes, and, inevitably, I ran into both of them in that morning. That was when it hit me.

Seeing them standing side by side in the glow of the morning sun, smiling or smirking down at me, only had my heart fluttering in their presence, making me glad that they couldn't hear that. It was hard enough for me to have to deal with the fact that three of my new neighbors saw me in just my underwear, now I had to deal with my reaction to seeing two of the beautiful faces that managed to see me in such a position every morning in mostly nothing but shorts and loose muscle shirts.

"My life sucks." I sighed as I sat comfortably on the train ride to my school as I mulled over my choices.

The way I see it, I could either avoid them for the rest of my life or confront them head on and settle on a deal between one another like I did with the twins. The only real problem being that the twins were Normals with nothing they could use against me besides some nasty pranks that somehow worked every time and an annoying ugly puppy that loved my yard as much as I hated its poop…and they weren't. Every single one of them were older than I was by at least three years, Mustard being the youngest…I think, and not only that but they might all be either Zodiacs or Master s or both. I never really found out.

"I wonder what's best."

"Why is this girl beside me talking to herself?" The person beside me whispered into his phone, making me quiet down for the rest of the trip.

"_I wonder…"_

(1)

I needed to scream. That was literally all I needed and yet, in the situation I was in, screaming would only worsen my status. It was worse enough being called a "Zodiac-less Master" so the last thing I needed was for something else to be created like "Zodiac-less Banshee" or something like that. So, instead, I worked on sighing to myself every five or six minutes. I mean, what else could I do? Here at Konoha High, we do everyday school activates like that of the Normals, the only difference being we don't have Gym but Zodiac-Master Training – which is basically the same thing but with supernatural abilities added. Now then, why did I need to scream? Well, that's because I hate "gym". Nothing good comes from it when you don't have a Zodiac, because, while the other Masters are out there training with their Zodiacs, the ones without one were forced…I mean were "asked" to participate in a type of Master training.

Now I know that sounds kind of fancy and fun and all that good stuff, but really, all it is, is working out...yeah…the kind with the weights, and it's annoying. Especially for me since I HAVE a Zodiac, albeit a really stubborn one, but a Zodiac nonetheless. So, yes, I wanted to scream because of the situation I was in with "gym". I mean, even the people who have absolutely no Zodiac whatsoever disrespect me. I can mostly deal with them on my own but that's only in smaller numbers. I can only insult and ignore so many at one time.

"Stupid." I complained as I sat there with some other girl I cared little to nothing about. We were doing sit ups together since she was the only one who didn't make fun of me. "My Zodiac is stupid."

"At least you have one." She cooed as she sat up with me, giving up on the unmonitored exercises.

I turned to her. "So you do believe me."

"Not really. I was just humoring you." She sighed as she stood and stretched before heading towards the water fountain. I followed her simply because I had no one else to talk to.

"That was mean."

"Well what did you expect, Sakura San?"

"…I don't know." I pouted as I realized that she knew my name but I didn't know hers.

"No one has ever seen your Zodiac, Sakura." She started and I was slowly shrinking into myself. She was going to rant at me like she always did whenever I brought up my Zodiac. "More than half of the people at this school haven't known you all your life so they can't say that your ring is real. Even the friends you had when you were in elementary school can't tell if it's real or not since you've never been able to calm your Zodiac, ever! I mean it's worse enough for me since I don't have a Zodiac and probably won't ever get one. Do you understand how hard it is for me? I'm just as much as a Zodiac-less Master as you are the only difference being that I have the lack of having a ring to prove it! So I'm sorry if I don't answer you the way you want me to whenever you complain about your Zodiac, but until it's proven that that ring is real, I CAN'T believe you!"

I blinked as she stormed off, face flushed and eyes watering. This had been the worst ranting she had given me yet. I wasn't prepared for it, nor was I ready for her to up and leave me after saying that either. I mean, I already felt hurt from the harshness of it all, but the embarrassment of having everyone's eyes on me afterwards was enough to make me flush.

"N-nothing to see here." I called out as I "coolly" walked away. "Go on. Continue exercising. Master s have to be just as strong as their Zodiacs to be able to withstand battle when needed! So come on." I motioned to the weights. "Get going."

"Weirdo." Someone laughed before the rest of them broke out into fits of giggles.

All I could do at that moment was wait it out. There were too many of them to insult so ignoring was naturally the next step.

(2)

"Why did Yuri yell at you?"

"Ah! Her name was Yuri?"

"You didn't even know her name?"

I smiled as my friends babbled on about how stupid I was for not even knowing the name of the one friend I had over in the Master Training session. I didn't really have an excuse as to why Yuri yelled at me for them. I didn't want to tell them because I hardly understood it as well. I had always complained to her when Master Training was taking place and she had always listened diligently. Then, afterwards, she would just turn and smile and nod to signal that she heard me. She hadn't ever really responded to me when I spoke of Zodiacs, but about anything else, she did. So, why the sudden outburst?

"Why is he coming over here?" Came Tenten's annoyed voice, making me look up.

Almost instantly, I looked down and my face started to turn a bright red color akin to Ketchup's hair. The one person I didn't want to see was making his way over with scorning eyes that looked like you were being swallowed into an abyss: Sasuke Uchiha.

Without even looking my way, he stopped in front of us, looking down on most of us with just his eyes as he scanned our group. No one spoke then. No one acknowledged him, no one even looked his way…except Ino, who was fearless and still head-over-heels in love with him, and Tenten was fearless and hated his guts so much that she couldn't control her anger whenever he was near her. After sweeping over the crew silently for a while, his eyes finally landed on Hinata's reluctant form.

"Where's Uzumaki." He demanded with a pointed gaze.

Before he could even get a response from Hinata, Tenten was standing between them, glaring him down with her own pointed gaze. I guess she took it upon herself to protect the younger Hyuga much like Neji does, just without so much force. "For what reason do you need him?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"You wouldn't be." She smirked. "You'd be telling Hinata, Naruto's Master. She deserves to know since he's her Zodiac and all…and you're not. So, naturally, you have no authority over her or anyone else here for that matter."

He scoffed before digging his hands in his pockets.. "I'll find out on my own then."

"Bye."

He scoffed again then started walking away, and I was finally given the ability to raise my head once again and, for some reason, speak. "Sasuke kun?"

He turned, almost too quickly for me to process what I was doing. "What do you want?"

"I...are you finally settling things between the both of you?"

"That's none of your business." Sasuke sighed as he walked off and I watched him longingly.

"Oh. Okay." I sighed, trying to control my attitude.

"Why do you take that from that jerk?" Tenten growled. As she stepped near me with crossed arms. "I mean, who pees in his soup damn day to piss him off that much. He has no reason to hate everything!"

"He's been through some things, Tenten." I smiled in attempts to end the conversation, though my lie fell on blind eyes. She either doesn't care about my obvious tactics to end the conversation or saw through my ploy to fake my happiness, with Tenten, it was hard to tell.

"We ALL have Sakura. Naruto, Lee, Neji and I have lost both of our parents. Hinata lost her mother and so did Gaara, Temari and Kankuro. Naruto was ostracized for most of his young life for being a half blood. Hell, Lee and I lived in an orphanage our whole lives and look how we turned out! You've been getting mocked every day since elementary school for your Zodiac not appearing when called and you still powerhouse through it! The difference between him and us, is that he let the pain of losing something important to him get to him and change him. He let hate control him and in the process lost even more, and to make things worse, he looks to not even care about it! For that, I cannot forgive him or even begin to want to understand him!"

"He lost his whole family!" I shot back with Ino beside me. She looked like she was going to add in something about Sasuke's situation, but was cut off by the amount of emotion that shot through Tenten's face.

"I never even KNEW my family, Sakura!" She yelled as tears gathered around her eyes, and just as they did all four of her Zodiacs appeared simultaneously beside her, each one looking panicked as they approached her cautiously, except for Lee and Neji that knew her the most. She shook them off angrily then stepped forward, towering over me since I was now backing off. "Does that give me the right to act like a total ass to everyone? Does that give the audacity to treat everyone that crosses my path like the dirt I walk on? No! I don't care what happened to him! He at least had a family he could remember so I don't wanna hear any complaining! I had no one form the begging! I didn't!"

She breathed in heavily before she turned then buried her face into Neji's chest while Lee wrapped his long arms around the both of them. Kankuro and Shino took it upon themselves to coo at her, telling her everything will be alright as I watched, not knowing what to say at the moment.

"I…" I finally started after some time. "I'll leave first."

"Sakura!" I heard Hinata yell after me, but I was already too deep in, I wasn't turning around now, no matter how sweet Hinata's voice may be.

I had only made it passed two blocks when I noticed a black car slowly following me, and I dared not to turn. I still had a ways to go and, though I have faith in my strength as a fast runner, I knew that I wouldn't be able to outrun a car all the way to the train station.

"_I really don't need this today."_

"Sakura chan!" A sing-song voice called, making me turn all too eagerly.

"Mustard!" I near yelled as I noticed the all too familiar face of the man I loathed yet admired at the same time sticking out of the window of the passenger's seat. He smiled as he held his hand out for me while the car pulled over to a complete top.

"Mustard?" He smirked. "Is that supposed to be me? Does that mean you forgot my name already? And I even took it upon myself to remember yours, too." He got out of the car and stretched his arms out into the sky before wrapping them around my shoulder. "Come with Deidara and Sasori nii-san today, Sakura-chan."

"Why are you refereeing to yourself like that?"

"Because you forgot our names. Come on. We're going shopping. You need to go too, ne? The convenience store really didn't have that many convenient things for people like us who just moved into such a shabby place, and you need food don't you? We'll buy!"

"I don't think I should trust just the two of you." I sighed as I crawled into the backseat against my own words. "Where's Konan-san?"

"With Pein." Ketch- err, I mean Sasori, deadpanned as he put the car back into gear. "He's her Zodiac, before you ask."

"She's a master?"

"We all are either Masters or Zodiacs in our house." Deidara smirked as he looked at me through the rearview mirror. "You were right about that part."

I nodded my response then focused outside as the scenes moved past me and I found myself reminiscing to the events that happened to me that day. Getting mocked all throughout the halls, getting my hair pulled, people younger than me, form the middle school district across the street, sneering at me, Sasuke ignoring me, Yuri yelling at me, Sasuke treating me like trash then ignoring me again, Tenten getting upset with me, Tenten actually crying, no one taking my side. It was an overall bad day all together. I mean I've had some pretty hectic days before, but none like this one.

"Sakura?" Came Deidara's worried voice, making me turn because of my maternal side. He sounded just as bad as I looked, and, from the looks of things between him and Sasori who had pulled over once again, I looked bad.

Quickly, I rose my hands to my face and whipped at some tears I didn't know were there then started laughing nervously, but, once again, my fake smile fell upon blind eyes. "Why am I crying?"

"Long day?" Sasori asked.

"You have no idea." I cried a little more as I made myself answer him before a parade of tears ran down my face and I broke allowing my emotions to get the best of me. Normally, I wasn't a very emotional girl. I did have some anger issues, but I tended to let that lose on those that mocked me and bottle it up afterwards. By now, I should know better than to do that since it always ended in me crying and I hated doing that. It was like I was saying that I was losing to them, like I lost the battle and had to start all over again and it bothered me to a point of no return that I got either too sad or too angry to do anything else but cry. It made me seem…week, and, at the moment, I wanted nothing more than my Zodiac to cry my troubles into, like with Tenten and her Zodiacs.

"It's going to be okay, Sakura." Must…Deidara's voice cooed as his arms wrapped about me.

At first, I didn't know what to do with that reaction from him. I hardly knew him or Sasori for that matter but, at the same time, it felt like I had known them much longer than I could even remember. So, after some lengthy debating with myself, and after Sasori started driving again, I wrapped my arms slightly around Deidara and started crying again, finding comfort in this somewhat-stranger.

"You wanna tell your nii-chan's what happened, un?"

I shook my head, no.

"Not right now?" He asked.

I paused, not knowing what I wanted to say at first before settling on nodding.

"Un." He cooed before he started rocking softly with me in his grasp. And, after that, we said nothing. Sasori kept his eyes on the road, possibly, and Deidara stayed with me in the backseat, humming softly to himself or possibly me, I didn't know. What I did know though, was that it was unbelievably comforting, and I could have stayed like that forever with sleep as my only threat. Well, that and time.

"We're here." Sasori started as he put the car into park not far from the store.

He looked back at us then smiled before he climbed in the backseat as well. "Let her go, Deidara." He smirked, and Deidara only laughed before he obeyed and started fixing my hair.

"Ah! You're makeup is all messed up."

"Not like it was all that good to begin with." I sighed, trying to lighten the mood.

"Do you still have your makeup with you?" Deidara asked earnestly.

I looked at him skeptically before moving to looking through the bag and bringing out the small bag. "Why do you need it? Do you have to fix up your eyeliner?" I asked

"No. I'm fixing yours." He smiled as he reached for my chin. I hardly had any time to react properly before he started lightly dabbing at my soiled face with makeup remover. Behind me, to my discomfort, was Sasori who was slightly combing through my hair with his fingers, grabbing fistfuls every so often before letting it all fall again to brush through it again. Overall, you could call my experience with them…awkward.

"A girl should never be seen in her worst state unless by the person she tends to spend the rest of her life with. No one else deserves such privileges…"Deidara cooed as he started looking through my measly makeup bag.

"What about you then?" I asked.

He looked up, flipping his hair in the process before fixing his gaze on me. He smirked a little before pushing his bang back to the side so that he could see better, I guess. "We're special." He winked. "Close your eyes."

I did as I was told, smiling all the while at his remark. "Okay." I answered sarcastically, no longer finding the energy to banter back and forth with him. "I feel sorry for your Zodiac. I mean, can she trust you alone without her monitoring you?"

"Who's to say my Zodiacs female, or that I even have one to begin with?" He responded with a huff of air in what I can only assume was a small laugh.

"Empty chain."

"Could have been a Zodiac-less Master."

"Not funny." I frowned at him, flinching slightly when I felt Sasori tug at my hair.

"You can open your eyes now."

"Besides." I continued as my eyes flew open and instantly looked down at his slender fingers that were now holding my favorite lip gloss and mascara together. "There's a ring on your finger. That means that you're a Zodiac with a master."

"Touché." He smiled. "Wide eyes."

I opened my eyes as wide as they could go and tried as hard as possible to not blink that many times as he touched my mascara up.

"I didn't use that much eyeliner so she still looks her age. Don't do her hair like that. Make her look younger with it."

"He's doing my hair?"

"What did you think he was doing, trying to turn you on?" He laughed, getting Sasori to laugh along as well.

"Is that what you wanted?" He asked suddenly laying his head on my shoulder.

"No! I was just wondering what you was doing?"

"I'm done." Deidara smiled just as Sasori finished up on tying my hair up. He turned to get out of the car and I, like an idiot, just followed him, only to be met by several faces staring our way.

At first, I didn't understand why, until I turned and saw Sasori leave from the backset as well, both of them looking smug and satisfied. "T-this isn't what It looks like." I stammered as Deidara dragged me past everyone into the store, still smiling.

"It can be whatever they want it to be." He alluded as he kept his hand around my waist while Sasori had his around my shoulder. "Their ideas don't bother me."

"They do to me!" I snapped as I tried to escape their grasps.

Unfortunately, they were stronger than I was, so getting away from them…was pointless. I gave up.

(3)

"Sakura-chan!" Deidara complained as he leaned almost comically against the shopping cart, with his long arms stretched to the other side and his body laying limply against the whole thing. Sasori seemed to be ignoring the fact that he was acting like a child and instead focused on picking between the cheaper, less appealing, meat and the expensive, overly delicious, meat.

"What." I sighed after looking away from Sasori.

"Are you done yet?"

"No." I sighed as I ran a hand across my face, moving the bang Sasori had given me out of the way. "I still need to get bread and vegetables. Sasori, which meat are you getting? I want the same one, please."

"Got it." Sasori answered without moving his eyes from the two kinds of meat in his hands.

"I'm going to check out the fruit. They might have it on sale." I started as I headed in the direction.

"I'm coming too." Deidara whined from behind me, catching up with me almost instantly. "We should get Watermelon!"

"If I'm buying it it's mine. You can't have any."

"Mean." He smiled before wrapping his arm around me and bringing me closer towards him. "Come, stand next to Nii-chan."

I looked up at him, knowing my face was red from the proximity of our bodies, but decided to keep my gaze just as he did. By then, we had both completely stopped in the middle of the store and I could feel the eyes of strangers lurking around, keeping constant nosy ears open for any word we might speak between each other. In any other situation, I would have broken by now, but for some reason, I felt obliged to take on the challenge he presented me with. I guess my stubbornness got the best of me, seeing as I wasn't even blushing for once.

"Something you need, Sakura-chan?" He questioned suddenly, making me blink in confusion. I kept my eyes on him as I thought about how to answer him.

Instantly, I regretted not asking something like that before he did, seeing the situation his one question got me into, was good enough to make me do so. I mean, I could say no, but then that would mean that I was just staring at him for no reason, and even though that was true, I didn't want him to know that. The, if I answered yes, it would imply that I want something from him specifically, and that would only add fire to the flame for the outsiders seeing as I would probably still continue to stare at him. Either one would end with me being embarrassed and eventually giving up. So, with cruel loyalty to my ego, I stared Deidara down a little harder then decided on how I was going to answer him.

"No." I paused and watched him as his smile grew slightly at my answer. "Was there something you wanted from me?"

"No." He answered. "I mean, you were the one who looked at me first, ne?"

Damn!

"Oh…" I whispered. That was all I could do. If what he said was true then I had lost long before this battle even started. "I see."

I looked away. With no other retort to his smartass comments, all I could do was look away to save what was left of my self-esteem.

"So we can get watermelon?" He asked.

"Fine." I sighed. "I don't even care anymore."

"Yato!"

"What are you so happy for?" Sasori asked as he approached us with two of the same kind of meat. "I decided on the cheaper one."

I nodded. "We're getting watermelon."

"Hmm? Why? Did he ask for it? It's not like we have enough for one. Kazuko would flip a Shit if we come home with one."

"Does he not like them?"

"It's the price he doesn't like." Deidara sighed. "And besides, Sakura said she would buy it."

"So, you're making her buy you a watermelon instead. Wow, I didn't think you would stoop that low, Deidara."

"Shut up! I want one!"

I giggled at them as we moved on. "I can at least buy the watermelon. I mean, you guys are buying everything else, right?"

Sasori nodded then said nothing else as he walked beside me on one side while Deidara pushed the cart on my other side. Looking at us anyone would think that we're all really close friends even though we're not. I sighed at my own silly thought before looking back up at Deidara as he slowly walked, looking around the store, and that was when I knew it, looking at the both of them, I was completely head over heels for the both of them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own this Manga**

**Shout out to these guys that reviewed for chapter 2!**

**Emma3mikan****  
****Xx4ying4yang4xX****  
****silverwolfigther00****  
****Poobear07**  
**And three guests!**

* * *

Previously in Chapter 2:

_They say attraction is what causes peoples behaviors to change. Like, for instance, a girls voice getting slightly higher when she speaks to a guy she likes, or the blush that form on her face when their eyes meet, or maybe even the inability to understand when they're being mocked or ridiculed. It dulls ones sense and causes their minds to alter in ways that fit best to the one person they want to be with, and the worst part is that you can't control it…._

_Out of the four faces that I had managed to remember from yesterday, the two that stood out the most were those two…._

_I needed to scream. That was literally all I needed and yet, in the situation I was in, screaming would only worsen my status. It was worse enough being called a "Zodiac-less Master" so the last thing I needed was for something else to be created like "Zodiac-less Banshee" or something like that…_

"_No one has ever seen your Zodiac, Sakura." She started and I was slowly shrinking into myself. She was going to rant at me like she always did whenever I brought up my Zodiac. "More than half of the people at this school haven't known you all your life so they can't say that your ring is real. Even the friends you had when you were in elementary school can't tell if it's real or not since you've never been able to calm your Zodiac, ever!..."_

"_I never even KNEW my family, Sakura!" She yelled as tears gathered around her eyes, and just as they did all four of her Zodiacs appeared simultaneously beside her, each one looking panicked as they approached her cautiously, except for Lee and Neji that knew her the most. She shook them off angrily then stepped forward, towering over me since I was now backing off. "Does that give me the right to act like a total ass to everyone?..."_

_Quickly, I rose my hands to my face and whipped at some tears I didn't know were there then started laughing nervously, but, once again, my fake smile fell upon blind eyes. "Why am I crying?"…_

* * *

Chapter 3

Never let it be said that a group of grown men and one woman could make a small high school girl's day, because that was exactly what Deidara and Sasori's roommates did for me the night before. That night, after our trip to the store, instead of going home I went, forcefully, to their house and hung out with a bunch of college students/ graduates, and though it was a little awkward at first, I had to admit that I had fun.

First off, I was finally able to meet everyone. Besides Deidara and Sasori, there were like eight others in the house, given that it was a fairly large house that still was a lot of people in one home. There was the loud and rambunctious group which consisted of Deidara, Tobi, a man with a mentality of a five year old but the smarts of a little Einstein, Kisame, a big brother to all and an overall smiley person, and Hidan…an asshole through and through…that's all that needs to be said about him. There was the quiet group, which consisted of Sasori, when he wasn't around Deidara, Uchiha Itachi, a truly blessed being with the body and face to match – I guess most Uchiha's look that good – and Zetsu who had split personality disorder and a pigmentation defect, I liked him, he was sweet. Then there was the other group made up of people who could have just as easily been placed in the quite folder had they not been so different in general from the rest of the group; Konan, a queen, Pein, her King, and Kazuka, the dark-eyed guy who was apparently stingy with money.

Out of all of them that live in that house, however, I still found myself extremely attracted to Sasori and Deidara…along with Itachi because reasons, but that's beyond the point, and out of the three of them Deidara seemed to be more attached to me than the other three and that was the idiot who already had a Master so he was out of the picture, because the last thing I wanted was some conflict from his _College _Master/girlfriend/partner person because his feelings for her had left to find something more with me, but Sasori seemed to only hang around me because Deidara did and he was a close friend of his so it was like he was obliged to do so, and Itachi and I had only met today regardless of the fact that I knew his brother since way back when I could hardly write anything besides my name, so things between those two and myself were awkward and not as comfortable as they were with Deidara.

But I plan to change that as soon as possible.

So, that morning, I woke up with a new light in my eyes. After having talked things through with Konan about what happened earlier, a feat that angered the two condiments that had actually saw me cry and asked about it first, I knew what to do to set things right with both Tenten and Yuri once I get back to school, and, as a side note, I knew what to say to my new neighbors as well. Lucky enough, when I head out, so does a good three of them.

"Good morning." I bowed slightly as I closed my door and locked it behind me. Beside me, in the yard that once was abandoned stood a very pissed looking Hidan – guess he's not that much of a morning person – a tired looking Kazuka – him either – and a permanent-bitch-face-but-I'm-actually-good Itachi who bowed slightly at my voice.

Seeing the older Uchiha made me almost giddy seeing as all of my life, well, at least part of it, I've been ignored by a certain Uchiha. "You guys heading to school?" I smiled, making my way towards the gate that separated us.

"The fuck you think we're doing, enjoying a morning stroll together." Hidan groaned.

"Stuff it, Hidan." I snapped getting angry with him immediately.

"We are." Kazuka answered instead, which was the first time in a while, I think, that I've actually heard his voice. It was nice, raspy, but that might be because of the time of day. "And you?"

"Same."

"You…" Came a deep voice that almost gave me shivers. I turned expecting to see Pein but was pleasantly surprised to see Itachi heading our way slowly with his eyes locked on me. "You go to school with Sasuke." He stated.

I nodded, beaming brighter than anything in the world since I was defiantly not used to the way things were going – normally, I can't talk well with Uchiha's. "Yes. I do. A friend of mine even has the same class as him."

Itachi looked at me almost as if what I had just said was some kind of joke before he smirked. "That's not all that helpful to me though."

"Right." I sighed, feeling embarrassed. "Right. That's…that's not important at all."

"Are you friends with him?" He asked, and all I could do was stare at him. I wasn't exactly a friend of Sasuke's. Not anymore. Hell, no one was a friend of his. He was his own friend and that was all the boy needed as far as he was concerned, though I wouldn't mind being a friend of his once again, but we all saw how those chances were going to add up.

"No not exactly. I mean, I knew him when he was younger, but we kind of…fell apart a while ago and I haven't been able to talk to him since then."

He nodded and stopped at the gate while I looked down, too embarrassed to look up at the older brother of my long time crush. Technically, these two were practically the same person. The only difference being that Itachi was less talkative than the I-don't-talk-much Sasuke. After some time of awkward silence, I heard someone fiddle with the keys, making me look up only to see Hidan staring directly at my face. Now, naturally, my first instinct would be to scream…but, since I saw who was staring at me, I didn't react that way. I simply pushed him out of the way. "Your breath stinks."

He laughed a laugh that sounded more like a howl than anything else before he sighed and placed an arm around my shoulder and pulled me so close to him that my cheek was touching his like we were real close friends. "I like her. Bitch speaks her mind."

I growled as I attempted to leave from his grasp. Last night, for some reason, Hidan decided that "Bitch" – such a crud "pet name" – was well suited for me for reasons unknown and unwanted. Literally, the moment I stepped foot into their house, all I heard was "Hey that's that girl, that bitch that threw shit at Deidara!" and I vowed to never get attached to someone like him no matter how chiseled his body was – he finds it acceptable to roam around in nothing but some shorts even when guests are over – or how sharp his jawline was – which was most defiantly attractive on every man whether my tastes were meet or not – because of that horrible personality. However, it was proved to be harder than I would think because for some reason, he decided that I was an amazing person with an even greater personality when everyone else around him could easily tell that I wanted nothing to do with him.

"Let me go! Seriously, did you brush your teeth?"

He reached for my cheeks and squeezed them in his big hand before bringing my face close to his. "Why? Did you want to taste how fresh my breath is?"

My eyes bulged and I struggled to get my face out of his grasp only to be rescued by the last person I thought would approach me again; Itachi. "She doesn't like it."

Hidan scoffed but pulled his hand back nonetheless and tucked them safely in his pockets before heading towards the car where Kazuka was already waiting. I glared at him as he walked away before looking back up at Itachi who was glaring at the older man. "Thank you." I managed to coo before looking away from him so as to not be found blushing. "He only seems to listen to you, Kazuka and Pein, huh?"

"Konan too." He answered. "He's supposed to be older than me, but I'm starting to think that he might have lied somewhere down the road. He acts worse than Deidara."

"And he's not even smart to have it excused like with Tobi." I added, getting a chuckle from Itachi which only had me looking up now. With my hand still on my cheek and the other over my eyes as if the sun was in my face, I was in the clear to stare at him without him really knowing that I was staring at him, and boy was that a sight to see.

By this point, I was sure that every single person in that god forsaken house had the most perfectly chiseled jawline ever and he was not ostracized from that grouping. The only real difference being that his face was considerably smaller than everyone else's in the house. Like if I had to rank them in order by the feel of their jawlines alone, unfortunately, Hidan would be at the top of the list, sitting high and pretty at number 1, following him would be Kisame, then Pein, Kazuka, Deidara, Zetsu, Itachi, Sasori then Tobi, but, something Itachi would win automatically, would be the collarbone ranking. I mean the dip that comes before the bone was simply outstanding, like I couldn't help but find myself staring at it every chance I got. Second would have been Deidara, then Tobi – surprisingly – and Sasori tied for third, then Pein, Zetsu, Hidan, Kazuka and Kisame – and they are only at the bottom because of the excess muscle that was built up around…their whole body, but Itachi, oh Itachi, was a different story all together. I don't know maybe I just had a thing for all members of the Uchiha family, but something about him was…calling to me, telling me that he was the one for me. So, naturally, I got a little giddy when I looked down and saw that he still had his ring hanging around his chain.

"Sakura?" Itachi started, waving his hands in front of my face, making my daily ranking end before it was even through – I was totally about to rank them on their muscle mass next.

"Hmm?" I started, feeling slightly embarrassed that I was caught. "Sorry. I wasn't…paying attention. I was um… thinking about how I could apologize to Tenten, my friend from school."

"Is that what you were talking about with Konan yesterday?" He asked as he started walking. I followed of course.

"Yeah. It helped to talk to her."

"I would hope so. She's studying to be a counselor."

"Oh cool!"

Itachi nodded before stopping by the car and unlocking the door. "Hidan get in the back."

"Why?"

"I'm giving her a ride to school."

"Oh, really!" I near screamed.

Hidan growled but followed the orders given to him seeing as he wasn't the one with a license and got in the back with Kazuka while I got up front, comfortable and out of reach form his lecherous hands.

"Ready." Itachi asked as he buckled himself up and looked at me smoothly at the same time.

I nodded, seeing that this "let's get closer to Itachi" thing was working out really well for me already, and I loved it.

(1)

I vowed to never ride in any car that held any one with the name Hidan in it again after that too long of a trip back. Sure I was not actually back there with him and Kazuka, but I might as well have been. Itachi couldn't have protected me much the whole ways since he had to drive and Kazuka didn't find enough harm in Hidan's roaming hands to stop him, so the whole ride, while I was trying to have a casual conversation with Itachi, Hidan found it fun to mess with my hair, taking it in his hands and pulling whenever he got the chance before sitting back so that I couldn't reach him. He also amused himself by reaching all the way across my chair and holding me down to it with no way to escape seeing as he was one of the three strongest members. Needless to say, I was all too eager to leave once I got close to my school.

"Okay, Sakura. You got this. You totally got this. Just go up to her and apologize. Make her happy, because she's not that hard to make happy, just make her laugh, you know. You're…sorta' good at that." I sighed, taking what could be my last breath before I turned the corner and started walking up to our usual spot. Lucky for me, the only people who were there was Ino, Chōji and Hinata and Neji – though that last one wasn't all that lucky for me at all.

"Good morning." I cooed as I approached them.

Neji looked my way and instantly, I felt his cold glare grow tenfold. He was the kind of person I could never really get along with. Literally, I only tolerated him because of Tenten and the same goes for him with me I assume…aaaaand now he had reason to not like me, but, since Tenten wasn't here yet neither was I. So his eyes looked right through me before looking away.

"How did you sleep?" Ino asked as she approached me.

"I-Is your father back yet?" Hinata asked.

I smiled, glad that they were trying to make small talk with me because I was sure that they and everyone else was going to act like I was the absolute worst person ever. So, I was thankful true but not even their casual talk was good enough for me to get over the awkwardness Neji had placed on me by completely ignoring my very existence.

"Yes and no. He won't be back until next year."

"Oh."

"Hello, Neji-san." I smiled, bowing towards him shyly, which was so not like me at all, and I guess he noticed since his eyebrow quirked to my actions.

He nodded towards me, acknowledging me this time before looking back at the front gates for anybody else to come. At this moment, I was sure he would be satisfied with Naruto since he was a male that he knew personally unlike Chōji.

"Have you seen Tenten?" I asked, getting his attention again. "I have something I need to say to her."

He watched me rather than looked at me, without blinking for a while before he nodded and pointed towards the building. "She has cleaning duty today." He answered.

I bowed slightly in thanks, getting one head-nod back from him before I waved to Ino and the others and headed towards the building eager to fix this.

_That may have been the first time Neji actually held respect for me. _I thought as my racing down the hall became a casual stroll. The closer I got to actually seeing Tenten, the more reasons I made to not see her yet; the main one being fear.

Now, there was a lot of things I, as a young teenage girl in high school, was not scared of that others would be; like bugs, that's Ino's fear, or snakes, Hinata, or even being in dark and scary areas alone, THAT was Lee surprisingly, but one thing I was scared of, or rather felt uncomfortable in, was when I was being yelled at or glared at by multiple people and especially friends. You would think that I would be used to that by now since me being the "Zodiac-less Master" caused eyes to turn all too easily, but I wasn't. I never felt comfortable in my situation and now, with one of the strongest of the Zodiac-Master pairings being angry with me, the last thing I wanted was to be glared at in such a disgusting manner that even I would feel nasty being me, because a mad Tenten was worse than an Angry Neji in that case.

I peeked through the class I heard voices in before quickly looking back, trying to hide as best I could behind the mostly-window doors before sighing. No doubt, Tenten was in there with two other people that often give me attitude for my…position, and she was casually chatting with them. For all I knew, she had already befriended all the people I swore to get my revenge on once I got my Zodiac.

I took a deep breath in preparation before I reached for the door and opened it as slowly as I could, knowing that a sound was going to be made regardless. So, to no one's surprise, everyone was now looking at me. The other girls looked at me with an almost disgusting look, but I paid them no mind. My eyes were locked on Tenten who was watching me with an unreadable expression.

I bowed to the others before motioning to Tenten. "Can I please borrow Tenten for a moment?" I asked with my eyes focused on the other two.

Instead of looking at me again, they looked at Tenten before scoffing and walking off, bumping into me roughly before leaving, but I paid them no mind. My mind was rushing with everything Konan and I discussed last night.

_So she got mad at you for being sympathetic for Little Uchiha – _that's what they call Sasuke in their house – _and giving him reason to treat everyone in such a crude manner when she and a lot of other people have just the same amount of right to do the same thing but decided not to? Sounds complicated…but I think what really needs to be done is for the both of you to apologize as soon as possible, because if the both of you just wait it out for the other to apologize then nothing good will come out of it. So be the bigger person and apologize. You might find that she wanted to do the same thing._

_But what do I do first? How do I just approach her? She's really scary when she's mad and she doesn't even say anything!_

_Okay, first, take a deep breath and calm down._

Done.

_Get her alone if possible. Try really hard for this one because it will make things easier for you._

Done.

_Step up to her with your head held high, if you look down you look scared and she will feel obliged to accept your apology and you don't want that you want her to honestly accept it._

I looked up, took another deep breath then started stepping closer to her, stopping slightly when she stood from her seat on the desk she was occupying, but the whole time I refused to put my head down so I guess that's also a check.

_Then what?_

_Then you look her in the eyes and you apologize in the most sincere way possible. Whether that includes bowing in a 90° angle or hugging her till she pushes you off, you sit there and apologize until she says something about it. If she says anything, look up and give her time to speak, she is your senior after all._

"Tenten…" I started as I stared into her eyes as long as I could before bowing, not in a 90°angle per-say but an angle nonetheless. "I'm sorry. I should have never said what I did about Sasuke having an excuse. There is never an excuse for treating others who have done nothing to you in such a manner. I let my emotional attachment to him get the best of me and I was no longer filtering my words. I apologize!"

Done.

_But what if she doesn't say anything?_

I looked up slightly, confused as to why she didn't say anything to me in that whole time and this brief silence afterwards, but instantly held my head down again until I heard her sigh a long sigh that sounded a little annoyed.

_Then she probably doesn't want to see you again, or accept your apology at that, and you have to be prepared for that, hun. No tears. Not then, or any other time during school, wait till you get home, or anywhere out of view from the rest of your friends._

_Why?_

_Because they are also her friends. Sympathy for you would be hard to do at that very moment, and if you cry in front of them, then of course they'll sympathize with you for that day, but they'll only feel sorry for you. Just because your friendship with one of them broke off, doesn't mean that theirs has to as well._

"Stand up Sakura." Tenten sighed

_She probably doesn't want to see you again, or accept your apology…_

"Yes?" I whispered, this time with my eyes downcast. I was more than sure that the worst case scenario was about to start.

_You have to be prepared for that…_

"Sakura, I…" She stopped, making my heart clench in on itself.

Here it comes.

"…I…I'm sorry...too."

"Eh?" I blurted completely unprepared for her apology, especially since she was the one giving me such a cold stare earlier on. "Sorry? You? For what?"

"For what I said to you yesterday. In my mind, what I said was pretty harsh. I mean I don't know that guy like you do so I have no real excuse for judging him like that, but at the same time I did and even snapped at you with it. Sorry."

"No. No. No. I'm the one who's sorry, I mean, I shouldn't have assumed that he has the right to do what he does just because of his problem."

"No, but we're all going through our own different problems and we all handle it better than others. Plus, if I really look at it, Neji's kind of a prick to…everyone"

"Except for you and Hinata."

"…Yeah, me and Hinata, but still. We all handle things differently so…I had no right to snap at you the way I did. I'm sorry."

"And I'm sorry for poking at a touchy subject."

She smiled. "Can we just agree that we're both sorry?"

I smiled as well, glad that all that pressure was off of me now that things were better between us. "Yeah." I started as I walked up to her open arms for a quick hug. "We can."

(2)

The rest of the day went by relatively fast with almost nothing but good things happening to me. I say almost because when I did manage to see Yuri again and apologized to her as well, she accepted my apology but she walked off right after that without looking back even once. She just said "okay" then turned and walked off, flipping her hair short hair in a way that somehow captivated me. I didn't know what to think of that, but I wanted a happy ending so I took it as an "I accept your apology" type thing.

"Maybe she was just really bitchy that day." Naruto cooed from the ground. It was the end of the day and I wasn't ready to leave the school grounds yet, not with that long trek home I have to take, nope. I looked down at him and all he did was smile up at me like he didn't say anything at all. He looked all too happy for a number of reasons; 1) Hinata was letting him lay on her lap, 2) Neji wasn't near to tell him he couldn't do that, 3) school was over, and 4) he hadn't run into Sasuke all day.

"Shut up." I sighed. I had no energy to deal with him.

"Isn't that Yuri over there?" Naruto suddenly called, making me and Hinata look up.

Sure enough it was her, walking along the school grounds and heading to the gates with her books tucked underneath her chest. Now that I really look at her, something I never do apparently, she did look different from the last time I saw her. That time, she had long black hair and wore a longer skirt then needed, but this time, her skirt was considerably shorter – shorter than Ino's even – and her hair was cut into a cute bob and dyed a light brownish-red color. She even had on makeup. She looked different, but not in a bad way. Not like I thought she looked bad before.

"I gotta' go." I called out before I made my way after her. I tried calling her name out, but for some reason my voice couldn't find me, so I stayed to running after her – much like a lot of free Zodiacs were doing. I had barely made it around the school gates when I noticed her small frame bouncing about as she walked towards a stop sign. I sighed, glad that I didn't have to run anymore before I started walking casually towards her.

I was about to call out her name once again, but for the second time, my voice wouldn't sound and I didn't understand why, but I shook it off and kept heading towards her, talking slower and slower steps…feeling my body get heavier as I walked, my head prick with pain the further I got from my school. I had barely took three steps when I felt the need to collapse, when the voices started ringing through my head, telling me that I wasn't safe, that something was going on and that I needed to leave, but I ignored them and kept moving.

Stupid right? You would think that I had seen enough scary movies or superhero type movies to understand that when something doesn't feel right, you don't go in search of it, you leave it be. Well, I didn't do that. My pride wouldn't allow me, so I continued to edge on when the light changed and she started walking away, further and further from my grasp. I thought pf giving up, of waiting till tomorrow, when suddenly, all my energy returned and my eyes grew wide in total fear. My body had rushed forward before I could even process what was happening to me, to Yuri.

A car, totally ignorant to the change of light, was heading directly towards the walkway at full speed right to where Yuri was standing. Usually, this whole heroism thing wasn't a part of my everyday life. My normal self was used to being one of the side characters randomly standing by when the accidents happened, but not this time, because the moment my dizzy spell vanished and I could see in front of me again, my body was rushing to push an unsuspecting Yuri out of harm's way. After that, however, all since of survival instincts vanished and I found myself standing there awkwardly while the car rushed towards me. Only inches away and I couldn't even move so much as an inch myself. Couldn't even close my eyes, instead, I held onto my ring tightly and screamed before finally closing my eyes and turning.

_You didn't even get to see your Zodiac again. You're such an idiot, really. You had every chance to avoid this, to live and see another day and yet…wait…_

"Are you okay?" Came a deep voice, the only real sound I heard aside from the constant ringing sound that echoed throughout my ears.

I took a moment before I actually opened my eyes, and the sounds returned to my ears: choruses of murmured voices of mixed ages, car horns of anger or curiosity I didn't know, and the hyperventilating breaths of nor only myself but Yuri as well.

Finally, I turned, looking up cautiously with my hand still gripping around my Zodiacs ring and tried to the best of my abilities to stay calm in this situation. But, honestly, how could I? Anyone would freak out right about now, what with the lack of feeling in my legs now, the screams of a girl going through a near-death experience, voices still ringing in my head, and a wall of what looked like tightly packed mud that blocked the car from getting to me. The last thing I needed in that situation was something else to contribute to the "reasons why Sakura should faint right now".

"W-who?" I questioned as I looked up to the best of my abilities, but being light headed didn't allow for that, so instead he bent to face me.

"Hello, Sakura." He chimed in his usual sing-song voice before he reached up and ran a steady hand through my hair. "Long time no see. I'm your Zodiac."

I gaped at him for only a few seconds then tried to yell at him angrily but I had reached my limit. Darkness started surrounding me and my whole body collapsed into his arms almost as if I had belonged there from the beginning. The last thing I remember hearing was his voice getting louder, calling my name before I felt my body being lifted off the ground.

_That idiot…Stupid, idiot…I hate you! I hate you! Baka, Deidara, baka!_


End file.
